Kingdom Hearts III: Trials of the Keyblade
Kingdom Hearts III: Trials of the Keyblade is a fanfiction story written by Darius Almighty on the website www.fanfiction.net. It takes place after Kingdom Hearts II, and involves Sora, Riku, and Kairi's newest quest to gather a crack team of Keybladers to thwart the schemes of the Galactic Empire, all the while being stalked by the mysterious Chasers. Trials of the Keyblade is notable for mixing in a large number of elements from sources besides Disney and Square, most notably the Star Wars movies. Another main plot-line involves other acting Keybladers besides Sora and Riku. Kairi gets her own Keyblade early on, and, as the story progresses, other heroes from the various worlds join them, including (so far): Mulan, the Beast, Captain Jack Sparrow, Inuyasha, Naruto, Jack Skellington, and Aladdin. The most visible antagonists in the story are the Galactic Empire, headed by Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Early on, the Empire invades Radiant Garden under the guise of benefactors, hoping to recruit Sora for their own dark needs. When they are refused, they drop the charade and take over the world, forcing Sora and Kairi to flee with Leon's team, becoming refugees. Riku stays behind and is captured. Meanwhile, Maleficent and Pete, having converted the abandoned Castle That Never Was into a mobile fortress, set out on a new expedition to once again capture the Seven Princesses of Heart and gain access into Kingdom Hearts. Besides Sora and his friends, they face opposition from a rival conqueror, the Horned King. With the aid of his Tsivet henchmen, the King sets his eyes on the same goal as Maleficent, even creating a new, more powerful breed of Heartless to further his ends. But the most dangerous threat is the Chasers, rogue Keybladers of unfathomable power who are killing other Keybladers to steal their weapons for an unknown goal. Early on, the Chasers attack King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as they are en route to meet Sora. The King is put into a coma from the attack, and Donald and Goofy are lost, their current whereabouts unknown. It doesn't take long for the Chasers to set their eyes on Sora, and nothing will stop them from killing him and his friends to get their precious Keyblades. Story 1: A Rocky Start Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden Introduced Characters: Sora, Riku, Kairi, Stormtroopers The story begins roughly six months after the events of Kingdom Hearts II. After Sora, Riku, and Kairi receive a letter from King Mickey, telling them to come to Radiant Garden, the group piles into the gummi ship and sets out. As they arrive, however, they are met by a blockade of large battleships, which demand that they send in an identification code. Unable to do this, they are fired upon and crash-land in a forest outside the city. The group survives, but they barely get themselves together before they are surrounded by a group of white-armored soldiers. Sora and Riku are unable to summon their Keyblades fast enough without risking getting shot, so the youngsters are taken prisoner "in the name of the Galactic Empire." 2: Radiant Garden Featured Worlds: The World That Never Was, Radiant Garden, Land of Dragons Introduced Characters: Maleficent, Pete, Moogles, Leon, Mulan, Mushu, Horned King, Cauldron Born In the Castle That Never Was, Maleficent and Pete prepare to make their escape from the dark world. The two succeeded in remaking the castle to suit their own dark tastes, but found they were unable to leave without risking dangerous exposure to the darkness. However, in the six months that they were here, Pete put his mechanical skills to work by transforming the castle into a space-worthy battleship. After putting the finishing touches on the fortress, the two conquerors set off. Sora, Riku, and Kairi, meanwhile, are being escorted from the crash site to the main city by the mysterious soldiers. Along the way, they are surprised to find that Radiant Garden has been fully restored to its former glory, and has even been completely cleared of Heartless. However, the soldiers are stationed everywhere around the city, although the residents do not seem to mind, and even seem friendly with them. Inside the citadel, the soldiers bring Sora and the others before Leon, who is acting as their commander. Recognizing the group, Leon is none too happy to learn that they were shot down by the soldiers. He orders their release, and the guards leave. Sora and the group are happy to be reunited with Leon, who promises to explain the changes to the world. Meanwhile, in the Land of Dragons, Mulan and Mushu are out gathering herbs when they come across the Horned King. The King summons an army of skeletal warriors as an invasion force to attack the Imperial City, and Mulan rushes off to warn the Emperor. 3: Explanations and Introductions Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden Characters Introduced: Captain Adelbert, Lula, Cid, Tron, Wade, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Barret, Denzel, Marlene, Merlin, Tifa, Aerith, Quistis, Dr. Shalua Rui, Chief Bast, General Darius As they explore the new Radiant Garden, Leon explains to Sora, Riku, and Kairi that the world has become part of the Galactic Empire, a multi-world government that offers mutual protection and economic security to the worlds it controls. They arrived shortly after Sora's battle with Xemnas, offering their aid in rebuilding the Garden. With little other options, Leon accepted. The first new addition to the Radiant Garden team Leon introduces is the gruff but dim-witted Captain Adelbert. Along with his living sword, Lula, Adelbert is in charge of training the Garden's new military. After they meet this mismatched pair, Leon explains that, besides the repairs, the Empire is also responsible for completely eradicating the Heartless from the city. The next stop on the grand tour is the CCN (Central Control Network), a computer network manned by Cid and Tron which provides all power throughout the city. Sora and company are also introduced to Cid's young assistant Wade, a mechanical prodigy, as well as his recent creation, Cait Sith, a lifelike robot in the shape of an anthropomorphic cat. Finally, they come to a meeting room, where several friends, new and old, wait. Among the familiar faces are Yuffie, Merlin, Tifa, and Aerith. The new additions are Barret, a large, cheerful man with a mechanical arm; Quistis, head of the military and Leon's old teacher; Dr. Shalua Rui, head of the Science Division; and Chief Bast, representative of the Empire. Once everyone is gathered, Sora and friends come to the realization that the King has still to arrive...even though he sent out the summons three days ago. Sora agrees to head for Disney Castle to find him, despite Bast's insistence that they stay. Taking a new gummi ship from the citadel's hangar, Sora, Riku, and Kairi depart. As they leave, Bast reports to his superior, General Darius, on his private computer. Darius is displeased that Bast has failed to prevent Sora's departure, even though Bast promises to detain him and the King when they return. Darius warns Bast to shape up quickly, as Darth Vader will soon be visiting... 4: Long Live the King? Featured Worlds: Disney Castle Character Introductions: Rufus, Chip, Dale, Queen Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, King Mickey Mouse In the gummi ship on the way to Disney Castle, Riku confesses to Sora that, even after all the good the Imperials have done for their friends, he still does not trust them. He believes the Stormtroopers would have killed them without even giving them a chance to explain themselves, but Sora thinks his friend is just being paranoid. In the middle of the argument, the three friends come across a stowaway: Rufus, the uncannily intelligent naked mole-rat. Not knowing what else to do with him, they decide to have him tag along. When they arrive at Disney Castle, the team is met by Chip and Dale, who usher them into the King's personal chamber, where Queen Minnie, Daisy, and the King himself are waiting...only the King is in a deep coma. Queen Minnie explains the dire situation: After their last journey, the King left to map out the routes between the worlds, should any further crises occur. One day, however, the King returned in his present shape, with his gummi ship on autopilot. He has been like this for two days, and shows no signs of recovery. As bad as this is, however, there is even worse news. Donald and Goofy accompanied the King on his ill-fated journey...but failed to return. They are missing and presumed dead. This news strikes Sora especially hard, and drives him to tears. 5: Darth Vader Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden Character Introductions: Darth Vader, Ellone, Donald Duck (flashback), Goofy (flashback), Aradan (flashback) Returning from Disney Castle, Sora, Riku, and Kairi break the bad news to the Radiant Garden crew. They are at a loss of what to do now, as the King is no longer where he can tell them whatever he needed to. Before they can reach much of a decision, however, an announcement rings out throughout the citadel: Darth Vader, commander of the Imperial Army and right hand of the Emperor, is arriving. In the citadel's hangar, Darth Vader arrives in his shuttle, amid a large ceremony by the Stormtroopers. Sora and company, having never met Vader in person before, are stricken by his dark, imposing appearance and demeanor, especially Kairi: when she shakes Vader's hand, she briefly sees into his heart, and is left speechless by the anger, hatred, and sadness she glimpses. Leon leaves with Vader to discuss the King's condition, and Sora goes off into the city by himself, still heartbroken by the events at Disney Castle. Lost in thought, Sora bumps into a woman by accident. As soon as he does, he is struck with a vision of the King, Donald, and Goofy, contacting Leon over the radio, then sending out the letter to Sora, Riku, and Kairi. As soon as they do, their gummi ship is attacked by a dark-armored man, who they appear to recognize. The man summons a Keyblade and advances on them, when the vision ends. The mysterious woman appears shocked by this event, and runs off, disappearing into the crowd before Sora can question her. Meanwhile, in the conference room, Leon finishes explaining their situation to Vader and Darius, his right-hand man and General of the Imperial Army. Vader offers his condolences, and admits that the Empire has been unable to locate Disney Castle. When he asks for the coordinates, Leon tells him that it is not their place to give out that information. Vader changes the subject, saying that the Emperor has become intrigued with Sora's power, and wishes to meet him. When Leon and company try to object, Vader makes it clear that this is not a request, but an order. Yuffie stands up to Vader's authority, and begins badmouthing him, to which Vader responds by almost strangling her to death with but a gesture. Stopped by Leon, Vader leaves, repeating his demand that Sora come with him, wether he wishes to or not. 6: Order 66 Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden Character Introductions: Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable Sora searches through the Radiant Garden market for the woman who showed him the vision, but his efforts are in vain. While searching, he meets a young girl named Kim Possible, who befriends Sora. She also introduces him to her friends, Ron Stoppable, who is actually the owner of Rufus, and Marlene and Denzel, Barret's children. Calling off the search for the mystery woman, Sora decides to spend some time with his new friends. Meanwhile, in Chief Bast's quarters, Vader decides that Radiant Garden has now served its purpose of delivering Sora to him. He orders General Darius to execute "Order 66", the arrest of the Garden leaders and the conquest of the entire world. Throughout the citadel, Stormtroopers attempt to arrest the Radiant Garden crew, but they fight back in whatever way they are able to. Outside, Sora is ambushed and nearly taken prisoner when Riku, Kairi, Kim, and Ron come to his rescue. Making their way to the citadel, Sora's team is met with a large group of Stormtroopers. Before they can attack, however, they are ambushed by Cid, wielding his old spear. Thankful for the assist, the team heads to the CCN, where they contact Leon and the rest of the Garden leaders. Leon fills Sora and the others in on why the Empire is attacking, and then makes a difficult decision: they must abandon the Garden. The Empire already controls too much of the world for the team to have any chance of winning, and they can't take the risk of having Sora get captured. However, before they can organize an escape plan, Leon's communicator goes dead. 7: Escape from Radiant Garden Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden, the Shera Character Introductions: None Leon, accompanied by Aerith, has had his communicator shot out of his hand by none other than General Darius. The General attacks the pair, who are caught off guard by his speed and skill. Getting a few hits in, they think they are gaining the upper hand...until Darius puts away his blaster pistols and draws two lightsabers that attach to his wrists. Meanwhile, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, having split up from the others, are heading to the hangar, pursued by Stormtroopers. After Sora and Riku take out another batch, they go to move on, unaware that one of the soldiers is still conscious until he fires a laser blast directly at Sora. Kairi dives in front of him, but is saved from certain death by the sudden appearance of a Keyblade, which deflects the laser back at the Stormtrooper, killing him instead. With no time to analyze this turn of events further, the group continues to the hangar. Leon and Aerith are still fighting Darius, and are only barely able to stand up against his skills and unique weapons. The two have some near misses, and finally decide that Darius is too powerful for them to handle alone. Distracting him with a thundaga spell, they head off to join the others. In the hangar, Sora and friends join up with the Radiant Garden team, quickly followed by Leon and Aerith. However, as they take cover in the hangar, they find that the Imperials have already destroyed all the gummi ships inside. Just when it seems like they have no way out, Cid reveals to the group that he has a secret, personal ship, large enough to carry everyone: the Shera. Everyone piles into the Shera, just as an entire army of Stormtroopers breaks in to the hangar. The Shera lifts off and heads to the hangar doors, but stops in midair...Vader has arrived, and is holding it in place with the Force as one of his men works on closing the doors. Riku decides to head out and take on Vader himself. Sora and Kairi try to stop him, but Riku presses on, regardless. Riku takes on Vader in a one-on-one duel...which proves to be a big mistake. He is far outmatched by the Dark Lord of the Sith, who counters every move Riku makes with hardly any effort. It doesn't take long for him to defeat Riku and take him captive. Having been freed, the Shera is forced to leave Riku behind, much to Sora and Kairi's dismay. Barely making their way through the Star Destroyer blockade, they warp away from the world. 8: The New Journey Featured Worlds: The Shera, Disney Castle Character Introductions: None The Shera continues on towards Disney Castle, the only place the refugees know where they can find safety. On the way, the passengers rest in silence after having lost everything in the escape. Barret takes the time to inform Sora of the extent of the damage they suffered during the Heartless invasion: How Barret lost his arm, Marlene and Denzil lost their families, Shalua lost her sister, Cid lost his wife (and later named the ship after her), and Leon lost his girlfriend, Rinoa. Upon arrival at Disney Castle, Queen Minnie agrees to provide the team with a temporary home. The group turns to Leon for their next move, but he wishes to give up his position as leader, feeling responsible for falling for the Empire's lies. The group is distressed by Leon's state, but Merlin speaks up, saying that there is a far more pressing issue than the fate of Radiant Garden. Merlin proceeds to question Kairi on the events in which she gained a Keyblade. After she tells him, the wizard informs the others that it must have appeared in response to a strong desire from her heart...a highly unusual alternative to the tests Sora, Riku, and the King went through before gaining their Keyblades. If this happened to Kairi, it is very likely to happen to others as well throughout the world. The downside, however, is that it was foretold that, if anything like this should happen, a great evil would soon follow. Sora gets the idea that, if this is happening, they should set out, find the other Keybladers, and gather them into an army to use against the Empire. The Shera crew agrees to this plan, and returns to the ship to begin the search. Sora, however, stays a little longer, asking to see the still-comatose King. At the King's bedside, Sora contemplates how life would have turned out for him had the Keyblade not been thrust upon him. Suddenly, the King briefly regains consciousness again, and whispers to Sora to "beware the Chasers". He also mumbles "Keyblades" and "Xehanort", before returning to his coma. 9: The Scourge of China Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden, the Shera, Land of Dragons Character Introductions: Emperor Palpatine, Azul the Cerulean, Rosso the Crimson, Nero the Sable, Shelke the Transparent Back on Radiant Garden, the Empire proceeds in bringing the world further under their control. In the citadel, now Vader's, the Dark Lord of the Sith meets with Emperor Palpatine via hologram. The Emperor is displeased to hear of Sora's escape and the King's absence. However, Vader informs Palpatine of Riku's capture, and the fact that he is a Keyblader who can wield the darkness as well. Palpatine orders Vader to bring Riku to him, and also warns him of a disturbance in the Force...one that he has not sensed in ages... Meanwhile, on the Shera, Sora chooses not to tell anyone about his experience with the King, wishing to investigate further on his own. The Shera approaches the Land of Dragons, and Sora, Kairi, Leon, Kim, and Aerith prepare to descend to look for signs of Keybladers. Before they leave, Wade gives them a new creation of his: portable communicators called Kimunicators that will allow them to keep in touch with each other and the Shera. With these in hand, they board a gummi shuttle and descend to the world below. Sora is eager to see Mulan and Mushu again, but as the shuttle lands in the bamboo grove, he senses something wrong. The group makes their way to the Imperial city, but are shocked to find it abandoned. Sora and Kairi wonder if the Empire could have attacked, but Leon points out that they would never have left the world unguarded. They split up to search for answers, with Sora and Kairi in one group, Leon, Kim, and Aerith in the other. Sora and Kairi investigate the Emperor's palace, only to find the doors to the throne room closed and locked tight. Undeterred, they climb a tapestry up into the rafters, making their way into the throne room from there. Inside, they find the Horned King speaking with his Tsivets, Azul, Rosso, Nero, and Shelke. They also find Mulan and Mushu in the rafters with them. Mulan explains to Sora how the Horned King has defeated the entire Imperial Army, and conquered the world. Soon, the King and Tsivets are joined by none other than Maleficent and Pete. The Horned King asks to see the Heartless, and Maleficent, not happy about being summoned, sends a group to attack him. The Heartless attempt to devour the King's heart...only to find the undead lord doesn't have one. It is then that the King reveals his true intentions: He brought Maleficent here knowing she would bring the Heartless and attempt to attack him. Without a heart, the King was in no danger, and was able to gain control of them. It is then that Sora's Kimunicator goes off, alerting all the evil-doers to his presence. The Horned King orders the Tsivets to kill Sora, Kairi, and Mulan, and disappears into a dark portal. The three heroes defend themselves from their attackers, but find the Tsivets deadly opponents. While fighting, Sora gets in touch with Leon via the Kimunicator, learning the Heartless are attacking Leon's group, and have begun attacking the world's heart. Mulan and Mushu duel with Azul, but what attacks he doesn't dodge glance off harmlessly. The arrogant giant taunts Mulan, telling her that her world is lost. In a fury, Mulan attacks again...and delivers a powerful, flaming blow with a Keyblade. Before this discovery can sink in, though, the roof of the palace is sucked off into a dark vortex...the destruction of the world has begun. Seeing this, the Tsivets, Maleficent, and Pete depart, leaving the Keybladers behind to die. As the group is surrounded by a massive swarm of Heartless, the gummi shuttle suddenly arrives. Knowing the world is beyond saving, the Keybladers climb in and Leon pilots them off to the Shera, the Land of Dragons collapsing behind them. 10: Beastly No More Featured Worlds: Radiant Garden, the Shera, Horned King's Fortress, Beast's Castle Character Introductions: Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Chip, Beast/Prince Adam, Belle Worlds * Radiant Garden * Disney Castle * The Shera * Land of Dragons * Beast's Castle * Port Royal * Feudal Japan * Olympus Coliseum * Far, Far Away * Tatooine * Montressor * Treasure Planet * Konoha * The Pixar Dimensions * Future Disney Castle * The Mysterious Tower * Halloween Town * Syndrome's Island * Agrabah * Space Paranoids * Davy Jones' Locker Characters * Sora: The young wielder of the legendary Keyblade, who battles the forces of darkness throughout the cosmos. * Riku: Sora's best friend, although he once wielded the darkness against Sora and his allies. Early on, he is captured by the Empire and must evade them while finding his way back to Sora. * Kairi: Another of Sora's close friends, who has recently been bestowed with a Keyblade of her own. For the first time, she fights alongside Sora against the forces of evil. * The Stormtroopers: Hardened, stalwart soldiers of the Empire. Commanded by their dark masters, they will gladly give their lives to take down Sora and his friends. * Maleficent: A dark sorceress, once again on a quest to unlock the powers of Kingdom Hearts. This time, she finds herself up against a rival sorcerer whose powers match her own. * Pete: Maleficent's chief lackey. Although frequently a bumbling fool, he shares his master's determination to destroy Sora and the Keybladers. * The Moogles: Strange, imp-like creatures who run a variety of businesses throughout Radiant Garden. * Leon: A friend of Sora's and enemy of the darkness. He is one of the most stalwart defenders of Radiant Garden, and feels personally responsible for its loss to the Empire. * Mulan: A young defender of the Land of Dragons, and new wielder of the Keyblade. Her home was destroyed by the Horned King, and she will stop at nothing to see it restored. * Mushu: A boisterous dragon, and guardian of Mulan's family. He is always by her side...wether she wants him to be or not. * The Horned King: A dark necromancer who covets the power of Kingdom Hearts. He finds himself fighting not just the Keybladers, but Maleficent as well. * The Cauldron Born: The deadly army of the Horned King, resurrected from the bones of armies past. * Captain Adelbert: A boastful and belligerent knight who headed Radiant Garden's army. He is stubborn and hard-headed, but he has a good heart. * Lula: A sassy living sword, and partner of Adelbert. She often takes it upon herself to put him in his place with a sharp tongue or well-placed laser blast. * Cid: A gruff but skilled engineer and pilot who assists the Radiant Garden team. Although getting on in the years, he finds himself on the front lines of this battle, being the pilot of the Shera, the Keyblader's main base. * Tron: A sentient computer program and old friend of Sora. Being in charge of Radiant Garden's computer network, he does his part to fight the Imperials from where they least expect. * Wade: A child prodigy and apprentice to Cid. He is a big fan of Sora's exploits, along with his friend Ron. * Cait Sith: A life-like robotic cat created by Wade. He is full of surprises. * Yuffie: Self-proclaimed "greatest ninja ever" and old friend of Sora. Although boisterous and child-like, she will do everything in her power to take back Radiant Garden. * Barret: A large but light-spirited man who lost an arm during the original Heartless invasion of Hollow Bastion. He is the foster father of Marlene and Denzel. * Denzel: A young orphan under the care of Barret and his best friend, Marlene. He enjoys hanging out with Kim and Ron. * Marlene: Barret's young foster daughter. Although she is saddened by the loss of Radiant Garden, she remains in good spirits, like her father. Her best friend is her foster brother, Denzel. * Merlin: A master wizard who lived in Radiant Garden until it was taken over by the Empire. He was the one who explained the Keyblade situation to Sora and Kairi, and set off their latest quest. * Tifa: A woman of few words and amazing strength. She is still on the lookout for her friend Cloud. * Aerith: A kind young woman who works with the Radiant Garden team. The Chasers have a special interest in her... * Quistis: Leon's old teacher, and a master fighter. * Dr. Shaula Rui: An expert scientist who headed the Science Division of Radiant Garden. She lost her sister during the Heartless invasion...or so she thinks. * Chief Bast: The Empire's lead representative on Radiant Garden, and new governor of the city. Like other Imperial officers, he lives in constant fear of Darth Vader's punishments. * General Darius: The Chief General of the Imperial Army, with a deep-seated hatred of Jedi. He pursues the Radiant Garden team constantly, and will bring them in, dead or alive. * Rufus: A naked mole-rat and Ron's constant companion. His uncanny intelligence is a constant amazement to the team. * Chip: Dale's partner, and mechanic of Disney Castle. * Dale: Chip's partner, and mechanic of Disney Castle. * Queen Minnie: Regent of Disney Castle, and wife of King Mickey. She is deeply saddened by the condition her husband is in. * Daisy Duck: Queen Minnie's formost assistant, and girlfriend of Donald. She was hit especially hard by his loss. * King Mickey: The King of Disney Castle, and one of the greatest enemies of the Heartless. However, all his Keyblade skills could not save him from the Chasers, and he is currently in a deep coma. * Donald Duck: Sora's former dear friend and partner on previous adventures. His current whereabouts are unknown. * Goofy: Former partner and friend to Sora during his battles with the Heartless. He is now missing and presumed dead. * Darth Vader: The Emperor's right-hand man, and a powerful wielder of the Force. He is responsible for the latest fall of Radiant Garden, and has a mysterious connection to Sora... * Ellone: A mysterious woman who gave Sora the ability to see visions of the past by mistake. * Aradan: One of the deadly Chasers who pursue the Keybladers. He is the most dedicated of the three, and the most powerful. * Kim Possible: A young woman who recently came to Radiant Garden. Although not a native, she will risk her life to return her friends to their home. * Ron Stoppable: Kim's best friend, and ally of the Radiant Garden team. Although cowardly and naive, he is a big fan of Sora's accomplishments. * Emperor Palpatine: Ruler of the Galactic Empire. Although he appears old and frail, and mostly relies on his henchmen to do the work, he is an extremely powerful wielder of the Dark Side. * Azul the Cerulean: One of the Tsivets, minions of the Horned King. He has a large body and weapons, with an ego to match. * Rosso the Crimson: Another of the Horned King's Tsivets. She delights in causing misery and bloodshed, as evidenced by her blood-red clothing. * Nero the Sable: A Tsivet and henchman of the Horned King. Calm and collected, he wields darkness as a weapon in battle. * Shelke the Transparent: The last of the Tsivets, the Horned King's elite. Her silent demeanor says nothing of her vast knowledge. She may have some connection to Shalua... Links http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3148076/1/Kingdom_Hearts_III_Trials_of_the_Keyblade Category:Stories